Demo shows UI, PSP integration in PlayTV for the PS3

Sony shows off PlayTV, its DVR and place-shifting hardware for the PS3 and PSP …

Europe will be getting a very neat product for the PS3 long before we do: PlayTV. The device features two high-resolution tuners and allows you to use your PS3 as a DVR, as well as use your PSP to tell your system to record a show or to watch your content from any WiFi connection. It's a pretty neat idea, and it gives Sony yet another corner of your home entertainment experience. Unfortunately, until the US embraces terrestrial digital broadcasting, we're locked out.

The BBC received a very nice demonstration of the PlayTV hardware and UI, and although it seems to take a while to boot up, everything looks pretty slick. The box is rather small, and the interface seems to act like normal cable; no big surprises there. Where things get very cool is when the demo shows off the ability to watch live television or recorded shows through the PSP.

While there are few new ideas here, what's exciting is how well it all works through the PS3 hardware. This allows you to use your two Sony systems as set-top boxes instead of using a cable box and DVR, and it allows for some very cool-looking place-shifting of content.